By Hermie Rivera

Dear Sir,

Happy New Year and thanks for your letter. My apologies for a very tardy response, but it seems the holiday season commandeered my time and attention more than usual.

My favorite part of your article is reproduced hereunder:

“From where I sit, Manny Pacquiao’s raw courage encased in a heart as huge as the combined-tickers of Marines hunting Bin Laden  should do Oscar de la Hoya in.”

After the fight, I received quite an influx of emails regarding how I failed to factor in Manny’s heart and desire. My response has been quite simple.

It is easier to make predictions based on what is finite, what is measurable.. such as wins, losses, kayoes etc…

A fighter’s courage or will to win or what we refer to as “heart” is indeed immeasurable and incapable of “pecuniary estimation” (legal jargon)– but that is not to say that it is not factored into the equation.

The problem is that it is difficult also to state coming into the fight,that Oscar had no heart.

A fighter of his caliber who has won numerous titles in several weight divisions also deserved some credit for his desire and will to win.

Ergo, in my estimation, I had to stick to other statistics in making my call.

As to the fight itself, most of those who predicted a Pacquiao win opined that Manny would begin to take over the fight at the later rounds (8 or 9) and win after Oscar tires.

Very few expected Oscar to be impotent from the beginning and fail to win even a single round. As to whether or not it was a weight issue, a strategy issue or an age issue is beside the point….

It was a great performance from Manny and that is why he is the best in boxing right now.

As always, my continuing admiration for your work…

Cheers!

Jingo Quijano

Dear Atty Quijano,

I just can’t resist crowing over a neatly-delivered paean for the rampaging Pacman.

Ditto for a happy & wealthy New Year for you and your loved ones.
Chiz, Hermie Rivera

By Michael Marley

Nice try, provocateur Ricardo Lois. You’re trying to find a match to light the flame in a public lamp.

Even Stevie Wonder can see your conduct and we all know your motive.

You want to see your former idol, Miguel Cotto, clock Manny Pacquiao so you seize on Cotto’s offhand comments that he might possibly fight the Pinoy Idol.

Yeah, right, and Ivan Calderon might fight Nickolai Valuev also. The Russian Giant and the Boricua Iron Boy is about as likely to happen as Pacman-Cotto is.

Why, you ask? Because Uncle Bob Arum will take Megamanny into protective custody when it comes to that physical mismatch just as he has loudly done so many times when people bring up the possibility of a bout between another welterweight strongman, Antonio Margarito, and Da Pacman.

No one will ever find the requisite flame to ignite a conflagration for Pacquiao-Cotto because of Manny’s promoter’s “good looking out” which certainly would be certified by trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao never mounted the rostrum to proclaim that he is a true 147-pounder, let alone the world’s best at the weight, before or even after he thrashed Oscar De La Hoya.

What Roach said, with his huge megaphone, was that his loyal liege could whip Oscar. The Pacquiao camp has never called out the entire welterweight division.

Thus, there are two excellent reasons Manny is targeting Ricky Hatton.

One, it is another monster payday. Two, if Manny remains focused it could turn into a relatively easy victory. No, it won’t be a De La Hoya cakewalk but, then again, I don’t think Hatton eats reindeer, kangaroo or deer meat the way Oscar’s brilliant nutritionist had the Golden Boy “beefing up.”

Megamanny is the Baddest Little Man On The Planet.

As Lois duly noted, he can’t be counted out against anybody due to his fierce Lapu-Lapu warrior spirit.

But, when the time comes to write the final chapter in the International Fist’s career, I think it’s safe to say his trip to welterweight will be recorded as what it was, a one-time excursion for the Golden Boy Exception.

As for the Mayweather Exception, the scriveners are still composing that one. But, if Manny beats Hatton and Pretty Boy comes calling, you can be sure Uncles Bob and Freddie will greenlight that excursion as well.

As in the case of Oscar, the physical risk will glossed over because of the financial reward. (I can’t wait until Manny demands that he and PBF fight only in Cebu.)

What makes me really laugh is that some of those who will call for Margarito-Pacman and/or Pacman-Cotto are the same folks who derided Manny’s chances against Oscar. They were among the legion who pointed out that Manny had climbed up so many weight classes just to get to lightweight let alone taking on a guy who remained, if nothing else, one of the top five or six 154-pounders extant.

Margarito really is a bridge too far for Manny.  If Cotto comes back to cop some title belts, I’d say the same about him.

Being fearless is one thing while being foolish is another.

Manny Pacquiao and his advisers know the crucial difference.

By Recah Trinidad
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The report was not apt. It said the Iraqi journalist who hurled two shoes at US President George W. Bush missed his target.

The Iraqi assailant certainly did not fail.

Bush had to duck the rockets, coming in the form of size-10 footwear, and avoided being slammed in the face.

But that sharp, dramatic move by Bush, closely resembling the main pad of Manny Pacquiao’s golden defense against Oscar de la Hoya in their Dream Match, did not totally save the American president.

The shoes did not hit the mark, thanks to the Pacquiao moves.

Nevertheless, Bush ended up slurred and shamed.

* * *

Bush did not get it in the face.

But he was aptly insulted.

In fact, Bush had to immediately lie to himself. He put up a straight face next, telling the media, “I didn’t feel the least threatened.”

Bush added he “didn’t know what the guy’s cause is?”

* * *

Of course, the entire world all along knew it.

“This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” shouted television correspondent Muntadar Al-Zeidi, the assailant who was immediately detained.

Of course, the entire world also saw how Bush’s image had been wrecked by his bloody sins in Iraq.

That explosive one-liner by Al-Zeidi, coupled with that dramatic protest kick, could well go down as the sharpest reportage on the Iraq War done by a native.

* * *

Listen, please.

Unlike De la Hoya against Pacquiao a week back, Bush did not appear puffed and often paralyzed.

Sorry but, just like De la Hoya, Bush would be exiting the main stage with a broken legacy, no thanks to the fiery correspondent who was instantly hailed as a national hero by celebrating Iraqis.

In De La Hoya’s case, the culprit was himself.

* * *

De la Hoya sinned in making false pre-fight claims.

It’s like this: As results would bare it, De la Hoya made a dishonest report on his exact worth in the run-up to the Pacquiao fight.

It has also become clear that two De la Hoyas prepared and fought Pacquiao.

There was Oscar the Golden Boy of the sport.

There was also Oscar the most successful salesman of prizefighting.

* * *

Pacquiao, indeed, proved to be a unique, insurmountable foe.

How Pacquiao succeeded in using De la Hoya as a springboard in his monumental leap to complete greatness — the finest boxer on the planet today — was caused by two major factors.

First, Pacquiao — a fierce, fearsome slasher — metamorphosed into a dream unbeatable warrior once he had succeeded in bringing enviable defense into the ring.

A bigger factor was the thick mask De La Hoya put on in noisily advertising the vigor he allegedly rediscovered in returning to the welterweight world.

* * *

It was a very painful process.

De la Hoya lied to himself in order to sell what could be his farewell package.

Unfortunately, he also ended taking countless fans for a ride.

Yes, Oscar also took boxing with him to the hospital after the one-sided match.

In Bush’s case, he did try to crack a joke to mask a shaken countenance.

De la Hoya, for his part, ended up a big joke.

* * *

(POSCRIPT: From boxing specialist Hermie Rivera in California:

Manny Pacquiao’s thorough drubbing of the once golden Oscar de la Hoya has brought out a tremendous outpouring of acceptance from a grateful nation.

But a loser who dropped a bundle at the casino is caterwauling on De la Hoya’s loss, prescribing a visit to a veterinarian instead of a medical doctor for quitting like a dog on his stool.

Poor Oscar. Maybe he should consider seeking aid from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals before plunging anew into what Jimmy Cannon calls the “red light district of sports since the fight racket’s rotten beginnings.”

By Michael Marley

Bang the drum quietly. I don’t think too many Oscar de la Hoya fans really want to go into the New Year hearing about how their tarnished idol is coming back to give a licking to the not so prodigal son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

But, if he does come back and I lean towards him doing so, Oscar will have to have some ready made excuses for his pitiful performance against Manny Pacquaio.

I’ve decided to give Oscar a leg up with the following excuses he can use as promo fodder for a fight in Estadio Azteca against JC Jr.

1. OK, my left hand, including my jab and hook, are completely useless. I now vow to turn back the son of the legend from Sinaloa with just my right hand. No more trigger jokes, please, because I have been disarmed.

2. I am putting together a new team of legendary trainers like never before…Ray Arcel, Freddie Brown, Whitey Bimstein, Chappie Blackburn…whaddya mean, they’re all dead? Well, I will come up with a wrinkle here because you know what a lousy job Beristain and that Dundee guy did.

3. I have never lost to a Mexican in Mexico.

4. I have never lost even to a Filipino in Mexico.

5. I have never fought in Mexico.

6. I will fight without a stool in my corner thus removing temptation to quit while in a seated position.

7. I’ve never said this before but Richard Schaefer and I were so upset about the turmoil in the banking industry that I could not get my mind right for the Pacman bout.

8. That little Irish rat, Freddie Roach, won’t be irritating me with his trigger jokes or devising simple but wickedly effective stratagies against my limited, shell of my former self.

9. Hey, I got it, let’s bring Roach back to my corner. That’s the ticket!

10. I see that Ring magazine still has me ranked #1 in any division I so choose.

11. Bonus Round 1: I never get my butt kicked back to back.

12. Bonus Round 2: Did I mention that I have never lost a fight in my beloved Mexico? Btw, does anybody know where this Estadio Azteca is located? Is it near Cancun or Tampico?

By Hermie Rivera

Photo by Miguel Salazar, MP promotions

Las Vegas, Nevada — It was a fight nobody took seriously when first broached by sports chronicler Larry Merchant.

Fight nuts derided it as a mismatch but others were supportive of Oscar de la Hoya’s move to have  Manny Pacquiao as his fightdate at the MGM Grand.

The match-up has since morphed into a viable thriller with the planet’s hot draws in a slugfest that will be long remembered.

Pacquiao checks in  Saturday equipped with his tools that leveled the likes of Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, David Diaz—not to mention Juan Manuel Marquez and other Mexican stars who got clobbered by the power-punching Filipino idol.

De la Hoya is aching to knock out Pacquiao. Oscar says he will not settle for anything less than a KO of his smaller rival.

So we’re back for the big vs small theory?

Roy Jones’ raid of the heavyweight ranks netted him John Ruiz’s crown. But Big John got beat when Dalai Lama acolytes he hired, flopped as sparring mates.

From where I sit, Manny’s raw courage encased in a heart as huge as the combined-tickers of Marines hunting Bin Laden  should do Oscar in.

Al Bernstein is looking at a Pacquiao victory “provided he eludes Hoya’s early assaults.”

“Manny should play it cool for at least seven rounds and catch Oscar for a W in the late rounds ”opined the expert.

As we near the climactic resolution of the war at the Grand, posted odds continue to fluctuate with the Pinoy  hero closing in on the Golden Boy’s once-imposing betting edge.

It will continue to slide with the entry of pro-Pacquiao bets expected to roll in before the betting cages close.

Factor in Pacquiao’s awesome gym consistency and Oscar’s headaches will multiply threefold.

Oscar is  sticking to a fifth round  stoppage of Pacquiao.

The Pacman has characteristically refused to say when a KO would come. But he’s certain he’s erect when the smoke of battle clears.

By Hermie Rivera

Filipino powerhouse Manny Pacquiao will know by December 6 if there can be too much of a good thing when he takes on super-powerhouse Oscar de la Hoya at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A reading of their last ten fights has Pacquiao toting a seven-win knockout slate, two by decision and a lone 12 round set-back while de la Hoya kayoed four, decisioned three, was stopped once and outpointed twice.

Manny is all keyed-up at his training quarters in Hollywood—hell-bent in retiring de la Hoya—one of  boxing’s biggest attractions if we go by his chief strategist’s latest pronouncement.

Oscar has been crooning his ultimo boxeo adios but has been awfully quiet on his exit strategy after terms of the ‘dream match’ were completed.

“Manny’s splendid gym work can only result in a stoppage of the aging Golden Boy who can’t shoot straight anymore” crowed his chief guru Freddie Roach.

“The popular myth of big beating small is what will prevail at the match-up” countered an aide as Hoya  toughened his drills at his restricted Big Bear lair.

Meanwhile, as we leave the issue of who’s having a better camp, troubling news flew out of the World Boxing Council of Jose Sulaiman, ordering Pound-for-Pound king Manny to cough up some 100,000 dollars in sanction fees—else—his belt will be stripped.

Strange, since Sulaiman previously dubbed the Oscar/Manny fight a farce. Called it an unmitigated fraud.

Far too long, boxing cartels have been duping prize-fighters of the hard-earned cash they‘ve sweated from rugged fights.

Manny should heed the suggestion of friends to thrash into waste cans his belts.

This, in keeping up with champions who humiliated officers of ring blocs by dumping their tainted sash.

It’s not the first time this cabal conned Manny. Take note of the WBC International title-trinkets where they extracted sanction sums in the past.

Leave it to the transplanted Lebanese in crafting schemes where money is to be made.

Sulaiman does not owe Pacquiao an apology. He owes him money from prior bogus bouts.

By Hermie Rivera

Photos by Noel Rivera

Hollywood, CA—Manny Pacquiao revs up a pyretic grind at his private camp, aimed at handing Oscar de la Hoya a thorough-drubbing when they collide at MGM’s Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Determined to surprise the favored Golden Boy, the Pinoy idol is pulling all stops for a record-setting ‘thrillah’ certain to bust the charts ratings-wise. Live gate attendance sold out earlier in record time.

A decisive win by Pacquiao over Hoya entitles him to leave a defining legacy en route to a new plunge in politics. But that’s another story.

“It’s Manny by knockout” chief trainer Freddie Roach brags when hawks in media  asks for his take on the big vs small  confrontation.

“My man knows where to land his knockout blows. Manny is well-coached on when to plant his vicious shots— in areas where Oscar is rendered clueless as to how he’ll win ” cocky Roach explained.

“Guaranteed”  added  the two-time trainer of the year, revealing a part of the body where a well-placed punch can brutally terminate the Dec.6 showdown.

Manny is mum on Roach’s claim of an abbreviated “Dream Match” but concedes that such a possibility is not only doable but achievable.

Oplan Oscar, a well-crafted fight plan is strategized at Roach’s Wildcard Hollywood headquarters on Vine.

Away from prying eyes of spies?

Careful snoops. If caught, you’ll find yourself rushed in an ambulance to an  ICU. For an instant check-up?

Not to worry . Fans can still get his coveted signature and pose for pictures after the Pacman is through working out.

One vital move he is in-synch with his trainers is for a 145 pound weigh-in limit and a 155 lbs. fight-weight. Give or take a pound or two.

Ideal for Pacquiao but not for de la Hoya who is battling a quicker and stronger slugger—Oscar’s height, weight and heft  edges—notwithstanding.

The book titled The Art and Practice of English Boxing yields an interesting passage: “The parts of the body (head) in which a blow is struck with the greatest probability of terminating the battle are on the eye, between the eyebrows, in the bridge of the nose or the temporal artery, beneath the left ear, under the short ribs—and in the pit of the stomach.”

Sounds familiar?

Reminds you of Bernard Hopkins on that fateful night at the MGM Grand Oscar?

At Big Bear Mountains of the Golden State, Oscar Hoya is  tightening his ever-reliable left hook, ridding its arc-like delivery to exact optimum damage.

But Pacquiao is capable of unleashing  his deadly counter-blows  when threatened by such type of hooks.

As tight as the skinflints on Pugsville Row?

Keep tuned.

By Michael Marley

ATLANTIC CITY–A birthday cake with 80 candles looms but Top Rank Head Honcho Bob Arum still has young ideas.

And, as his history shows us, when Arum gets one of his thinking outside the box ideas, they usually come to fruition.

So I wouldn’t bet against Pacmaniacs from far and wide swarming to the San Francisco Bay Area in March to see their Pinoy idol fighting at the baseball Giants downtown stadium, AT&T Park.

“It may happen,” Arum told Boxingconfidential.com as he counted down the remaining hours until his unbeaten middleweight Kelly Pavlik crossed gloves with Old Man of the Mountain Bernard Hopkins. “Manny would pack that ballpark. You’ve got a huge Filipino population in the Bay Area to begin with.”

As he’s discussed previously, Arum said that, before Pacquiao-De La Hoya coalesced into a firm deal and the Dec. 6 contracts were signed, he had lengthy discussions with Giants officials about staging a Pacman fight.

This will be good news for Boxingconfidential as I won’t have to dig deep for the private plane and vodka bills for Bay Area based John Chavez and Hermie Rivera. I guess I’d still have to underwrite their liquor tabs.

“We talked to the Giants about a lot of this even going so far as to go over seating charts and plans. If Manny could fight there, I’d say we would have to do it just before they open their home season.”

The Giants begin their 2009 season at home Tuesday, April 7, against the Milwaukee Brewers.

It’s even possible that such a Pacquiao fight might be against popular Brit Ricky Hatton because Arum said he sees no reason for Manny to go to the UK to battle the Mancunian.

I can hear the Giants p.a. man even now:

“Now batting, Manny Pacquiao!”

By Hermie Rivera